Senior IRGC, regime officials killed in Israel-US strikes on Iran, source says BREAKINGTrump confirms US operation in Iran, tells IRGC to lay down arms • Blasts heard in Tehran as Khamenei moved to ‘secure location’ • Netanyahu says objective to end Ayatollah’s regime Israel targets Supreme Leader Khamenei, Pezeshkian in Iran strikes, results unclear Live UpdatesIran launches heavy missile barrage across Israel in retaliation for US-Israel attackIran’s launches toward Israel come after United States President Donald Trump confirmed the US began an operation against the Islamic regime.
For Kurds in Iraq, Iran conflict has opportunities and pitfalls
ANALYSIS
In the past, some Kurds were able to seek refuge in Iran during Saddam Hussein’s genocidal poison gas attacks. However, the Iranian regime has been persecuting Kurds over recent decades.
Iran stored highly enriched uranium at underground site, IAEA report says
US and Israel attack Iran as Tehran retaliates across Middle East
Updated 6:42 AM EST, Sat February 28, 2026
Here’s the latest
• US and Israel attack Iran: The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran Saturday morning after what the Israeli military said was months of “close and joint planning.” Israel said its strikes targeted Iran’s supreme leader, president and head of the armed forces. The US is also planning for several days of attacks, sources tell CNN.
• Trump calls for regime change: President Donald Trump described the US military campaign as “massive and ongoing,” warned American lives may be lost, and called on Iranians to “take over your government.” He also accused Tehran of working to rebuild its nuclear program after massive US strikes last summer he previously claimed had obliterated the facilities. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
• Iran retaliates: Iran responded to the attacks by launching an unprecedented wave of strikes toward Israel and US targets across the Middle East. Explosions were reported in a number of countries including the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.AllCatch UpAnalysis
83 Posts4 min ago
US military plan includes series of escalating strikes with pauses to assess damage
By Jim Sciutto
The US has planned an escalating series of strikes with off-ramps along the way, according to a senior US official. Each round will be over a one to two-day period with pauses to reset and assess battle damage.
Iran’s rapid retaliation puts US defense systems to the test, CNN military analyst says
By Charlotte Reck
Smoke rises after Iran carried out a missile strike on the main headquarters of the US Navy 5th Fleet in Manama, Bahrain, on Saturday. Anadolu/Getty Images
Iran’s rapid retaliation to the US and Israel’s joint military operation will test the defense systems established by the US across the Middle East, while also demonstrating Iran’s military capability, CNN’s military analyst says.
“This is the defensive posture that has been established over the past few months, and actually years, in the Gulf region, that is now being basically put to the test as the Iranians respond to the initial attack,” retired US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton told CNN’s Becky Anderson.
Leighton said intelligence estimates give some indication as to the capacity Iran has to retaliate, but he added its speedy response is surprising, and suggests it has been preparing for an attack of this intensity.
“They (Iran) have about 2,000 to 3,000 missile that they are capable of launching,” Leighton said, “The problem that they have is that they don’t have, at least according to the intelligence estimates, they don’t have the launchers that they had.”
The military expert said Iran is believed to have around a third of the launchers it had before the June attacks last year, “So, if that is true, if those intelligence estimates are correct, one would think that the Iranian response would have been delayed a bit. But they clearly were able to mount a response very quickly, more quickly than I expected them to.”
“I expected them to mount a response but not a response of this magnitude at this particular moment in time. So, they were clearly getting ready for this,” Leighton said, “They were prepared.”Read more
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Trump told the IRGC to surrender or face “certain death.” What to know about the elite wing of Iran’s military
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) soldiers march in formation during the annual military parade in Tehran, Iran, on September 21, 2024. Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces, and all of the police, I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity or, in the alternative, face certain death,” President Donald Trump said in his address, announcing a “major” operation in Iran.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the elite wing of the Iranian military, has propped up the Iranian regime for decades. It is tasked both with combating enemies abroad and stamping out protests at home. Here’s what to know about it.
What is the IRGC and how did it start?
The IRGC exists to “guard” the theocracy. After Iran’s last monarch was deposed in 1979, various paramilitary groups that helped hasten his downfall coalesced into the IRGC. It resisted initial attempts to be incorporated into the regular army and cemented its power during its deployment in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
Today, it is the most powerful branch of Iran’s military, independent of the regular army. Comprising between 150,000 and 190,000 troops, it has an army, navy, air force and intelligence wing, and has also become enmeshed throughout Iran’s civilian economy.
What is the Quds Force?
The Quds Force is an expeditionary unit made up of the IRGC’s most elite fighters. It was originally tasked with foreign operations, starting with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The force has since supported several non-state actors in the Middle East, from Hamas in Gaza to the Houthis in Yemen and even the Taliban in Afghanistan during the 1990s.
What is the Basij?
The Basij – another of the IRGC’s five branches – operates like the police: visible, street-level, domestic. Meaning “mobilization” in Farsi, the Basij is a volunteer group which plucks members from across the country, often from poorer, more conservative backgrounds. It is tasked with propping up the regime at home and enforcing Islamic morality among the public.Read more
Shelter in place warning across Qatar means I’m working from my bathroom
By Antoinette Radford in Doha, Qatar
People watch from their balcony following explosions in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday. Mohammed Salem/Reuters
Across Qatar, an emergency alert was sent to phones at around midday, urging people to stay in their homes or to shelter in a safe place, to avoid military sites and “not to go out or move around except when absolutely necessary, in order to avoid any risks”.
For me, that means working from my bathroom – which is the room with the most walls between me and the windows where I live.
Over the past four hours we have heard three rounds of missiles being intercepted. Earlier, a Qatari official said Qatar had intercepted two Iranian missiles over the country.
